


this crush ain’t going away

by Spikedluv



Category: American Idol RPF, David Cook (Musician)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Community: trope_bingo, First Kiss, M/M, Trope: Fork in the Road
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-20
Updated: 2017-08-20
Packaged: 2018-12-17 18:17:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11856993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spikedluv/pseuds/Spikedluv
Summary: A second bout of vocal cord paralysis keeps Archie from competing in Season 7 of American Idol, but the universe works in mysterious ways and he meets David Cook anyway.





	this crush ain’t going away

**Author's Note:**

  * For [abovetheruins](https://archiveofourown.org/users/abovetheruins/gifts).
  * Inspired by [take the world together](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12119856) by [abovetheruins](https://archiveofourown.org/users/abovetheruins/pseuds/abovetheruins). 



> Written for Round 9 of [Trope Bingo on DW](http://trope_bingo.dreamwidth.org) to fill the _Fork in the Road_ square.
> 
> Also written as a 'trope bingo challenge' with Abovetheruins: Cookleta, Fork in the Road, one week to write 1,500 words. This is our second one, and I had so much fun writing to the shared trope! There were so many options for the 'fork in the road', and I can't wait to see which one she chose to write for. *bounce* [According to WP this fic is exactly 1,500 words; I don't know why AO3 always adds to the word count.]
> 
> Posted: August 20, 2017

Cook stepped up behind Archie as he waited in the wings to go on stage. Large hands curled over his shoulders; Archie relaxed into them.

“Nervous?”

Archie smiled, even though Cook couldn’t see it, and shook his head. “No.”

“Good.” Cook pressed a kiss to the side of Archie’s neck.

Although he’d been expecting it Archie couldn’t suppress a shiver.

“Break a leg.”

Archie closed his eyes and worried his bottom lip as warm breath feathered across his skin.

The lights went down and an expectant hush filled the small venue. Archie stepped away from Cook and out from behind the curtain to take his place at the keyboard. He took a deep breath and said a small prayer as he set his fingers to the keys. Archie ignored the applause and screaming when the crowd heard the first note. A spotlight lit Archie’s area of the stage and he began to sing.

~*~*~*~

Archie hadn’t expected to be tongue-tied when he met David Cook. He remembered the husky rasp of his voice from watching season seven of American Idol, and from secretly listening to the songs off of his first album, but hearing it in person sent an unfamiliar shiver down Archie’s spine.

Archie had auditioned for season seven of American Idol in San Diego but his Golden Ticket hadn’t protected him from another bout of vocal cord paralysis. He’d insisted on watching the season when it aired despite his parents’ protests that it might be upsetting. From the beginning he’d rooted for the rocker from Blue Springs, Missouri with the messy hair and soulful voice.

Archie’s vocal cords healed, but he became more cautious in his singing for fear of another relapse. He eschewed the next round of AI auditions for finishing high school and doing missionary work in Chile.

A few days after he returned home, when he was still weighing options for his future, Archie heard a song on the radio that reminded him of David Cook and sent him to the internet to see what the season seven American Idol winner was up to. What Archie discovered changed the course of his life – David Cook was looking for a new keyboard player for a fall tour in support of his new album, ‘This Loud Morning’.

Archie thought about auditioning, but then he laughed at himself for being ridiculous. Even so, he couldn’t stop thinking about it. Archie knew that God worked in mysterious ways, and maybe he’d placed this information in front of him for a reason. Whatever he decided, he had to do it quickly because the opportunity wouldn’t last long.

Archie talked to his sister, and she encouraged him to at least try. She said what he’d been thinking; that if he didn’t, he’d always wonder ‘what if’. His parents weren’t thrilled with the idea of Archie going off to LA so soon after his return from Chile, but after he spoke with one of the church leaders and was still determined, they gave him their blessing.

~*~

David Cook attended the auditions. Archie tried not to stare, but he figured he was doing a pretty bad job. Cook introduced himself, as well as his buddy and guitarist Andy Skib, then asked Archie to tell them something about himself.

Archie’s mind shut down and he ended up blurting out, “I auditioned for season seven of American Idol in San Diego.”

“You didn’t make it?” Cook said politely.

Archie shook his head. “I got through, but I had a relapse of vocal cord paralysis and couldn’t compete. I voted for you, though,” he added. “Is it weird to hear that? Everyone probably says that.”

“You’d be surprised how many people _don’t_ say that,” Cook said with a smile, then waved Archie over to the keyboard and told him to, “Play something.”

“I’m not familiar with much of the current music,” Archie said, wiping his palms on the seat of his pants as he got behind the keyboard. “I just got back from two years in Chile.”

Archie set his fingers upon the keys and played a few practice notes to make sure that the keyboard was tuned properly, and then he went into ‘Crazy’, followed by ‘Imagine’, songs he’d played dozens of times, ending with ‘Light On’ off of Cook’s first post-Idol album.

“Why were you in Chile?” Cook asked.

“Missionary work,” Archie said, “for the church.”

Cook had him play a couple of songs off of the new album, ‘The Last Goodbye’ and ‘Paper Heart’, and then Andy picked up his guitar and the two of them played ‘Goodbye To The Girl’. Cook joined them for ‘Fade Into Me’, and then he said, “What do you think?”

At first Archie didn’t realize Cook was talking to him. “Um, I think I did okay?”

Cook laughed. “You did great, man. But is this the kind of music you want to play? I like to rock out and there won’t be too many inspirational songs on the set list.”

“I just want to play,” Archie said, “and I can play anything.”

Cook tested him with a few songs that he had in mind to cover during the tour. Archie got through them all. Cook asked if he would be able to do any vocals, and so Archie sang a song that he knew wouldn’t strain his voice.

“That’s great!” Cook said when Archie was done.

“Thanks,” Archie said. “I can still sing, I just don’t . . . push my voice.”

“Well, I’m impressed with your ‘not pushing it’ voice.”

Cook took Andy aside and they spoke for a few minutes before Cook returned to Archie. He lifted his hands off the keyboard where he’d subconsciously been playing ‘You Raise Me Up’. Cook rested his hip against the keyboard.

“You intrigue me, David Archuleta. I didn’t expect anyone like you to audition. I have to admit, you’re not what I pictured when I imagined a keyboard player, but the job is yours if you want it.”

“What did you picture?” Archie said.

“A red Mohawk,” Cook said, “a nose ring.”

Archie’s eyes must’ve gone very wide because Cook grinned, then Archie realized what he’d said. “Wait, the job is mine?”

~*~

They had four weeks to practice before opening night of the tour at Penn State on October 9. The weird hours of touring and sleeping on the bus and doing laundry at midnight wasn’t as huge an adjustment as it might’ve been if Archie hadn’t just spent two years in Chile, but he still missed his family. Cook never teased Archie when he found him in his bunk reading the bible or on the phone with his parents, and he took the time to sit and chat with him during what little downtime they had.

Archie met Cook’s mom and brother at the Pageant in St. Louis and introduced Cook to his parents and sister a few days later at the Knitting Factory in Boise. There were twenty-two concerts in a month, and the time flew by. Archie was home for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and returning to his ‘real life’ was weirder this time after spending a month on the road touring and having people scream his name when he came out on stage. (Cook had laughed at him after the first night when Archie had been shell-shocked from the experience.)

Cook moved to Nashville the following year and he invited Archie down to visit and write some songs with him. Archie stayed in Cook’s spare room and got some session work. He did a few local acoustic gigs with Cook and they stayed up late writing songs. As Archie got more comfortable, he wrote some songs on his own. He let Cook see most of them, but one he kept to himself.

Archie was mortified when he got home from the studio late one night to hear Cook playing the song he’d given the working title ‘Crush’.

“Hey, Arch, you’re home!” Cook said, not hearing the way Archie’s heart thundered inside his chest when he stepped into the living room. “When did you write this song? It’s really good!”

Blood pounded in Archie’s ears and it took him a moment to realize what Cook had said. He had to swallow hard before speaking. “You really like it?”

“Yeah, it’s amazing, man!”

Archie’s throat tried to close up when Cook suggested they play around with the song together because there was no way he wasn’t going to _know_. After the first time through, Cook set aside his guitar.

“Archie.”

Archie couldn’t raise his head.

“Hey, Arch.” Cook took Archie’s hand and Archie turned his head. “You’ve got me hypnotized, too.”

“Oh, gosh!” Archie said.

Cook laughed and pulled Archie close. “Come here,” Cook said. He bent his head and Archie made the softest sound when their lips met for the first time.

~*~*~*~

A guitar joined in with the keyboard, and then Cook’s voice came in on the chorus. The crowd went wild, and Archie smiled around the words he was singing.

**Author's Note:**

> The song Archie that wrote and he and Cook sing together is of course ‘Crush’. Inspired by [that time Archie got on stage at one of Cook's concerts in Sandy, Utah and sang 'Crush' with Cook singing back-up](https://youtu.be/LKffgVOW6O8).


End file.
